Lost Name
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: He was the greatest sorcerer to have lived in the past hundred years, and he was was a child who had no name. Eriol is the chosen body for Clow Reed, and he couldn't be happier. But when the recreation of one of the greatest magical feats in modern history almost tears them apart, Clow is given the chance to be reborn. Can Eriol survive this test? Fatherly!Clow
1. Chapter 1

He was someone for whom names were meaningless. Because he had none. At least none that would be acceptable among others.

His aunt never deigned to call him anything other than 'boy' or 'you', so he decided that he must not have a name.

At the tender age of four, he had learned quite a bit about the darkness of the human heart.

So when given the choice between remaining the same or becoming someone else, someone powerful, he chose freedom. It would take months before anyone knew that he had been taken from his tiny prison and given a new life.

His name...was Eriol. And he was the chosen successor of Clow Reed, or at least his ghost.

* * *

Eriol couldn't wait for tonight. Clow's spirit was going to give him something he had craved ever since that horrible night his parents were murdered.

Someone who would care for him. Be his family.

Tonight was a rare lunar eclipse.

Eriol let Clow take over for the circle. For three years he had acted as Clow's voice in the world of the living, his avatar so that he could see his greatest work through to another master.

And now it was time for Clow to insure that his 'voice' had someone to care for him...and keep the wizard's Ministry from finding them too early.

Clow added the ingredients...everything he had added when he had created Yue.

In Eriol's voice, he spoke the incantation just as the eclipse reached the peak of darkness.

_**Harken oh Spirit of the Moon.**_

_**I am the one who speaks for the forces of the Yin.**_

_**Gather now and take form in this night.**_

_**Become my Staff and my Shield.**_

_**I beckon thee, take form!**_

The circle swirled as something began to take form under his magic. Eriol could feel the drain, but as Clow was powering this familiar he wouldn't pass out. Clow had more than enough to make two spirits.

However Clow allowed Eriol to dictate the form of this Moon familiar.

A woman began to form, ruby red hair gleaming under the starlight. Something spread from her back, and under the dim light Eriol could see a pair of beautiful black and red accented butterfly wings. He had always been partial to Clow's butterfly garden, since he hated waking up in the mornings.

She slowly opened her eyes, revealing a set of brilliant ruby red orbs.

"_My name. What is my name Master?"_ she whispered.

Clow nudged Eriol, who spoke for the first time that night.

"Ruby Moon," said Eriol.

The newly named Ruby smiled at him, and Eriol felt something inside of him burst with joy. He would never be alone again.

* * *

Eriol quickly learned that Ruby had no idea how to cook. Something she picked up from Clow apparently. Fortunately he enjoyed the art.

She was also very excitable, a distinct difference from the quiet Eriol or the mischievous Clow Reed.

Clow decided that Eriol should make his own familiar, as he had created Ruby mostly to keep the Ministry away from the boy. Which was why Eriol spent most of his time reading rather than socializing.

Because Clow had to wait for his greatest legacy to be found, he spent every day teaching Eriol magic.

So what if Eriol didn't have any friends his age? He got to learn from one of the greatest sorcerers in human history and he had a home!

* * *

Eriol was half asleep and almost about to drool on his magical homework when he felt a surge of power hit him. He yelped in surprise and his chair fell backwards on the floor. Ruby snorted into waking and looked at him.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I..." started Eriol before Clow took over.

"_My successor has found the Book. We need to start making preparations to leave Europe for a while once they finish claiming the cards,"_ said Clow.

Eriol shivered. Just because he willingly shared his body with a century-old ghost didn't mean he enjoyed the times Clow took over his body and pushed him to the back seat.

Clow sent a soothing wave of magic to Eriol. He knew the boy wasn't exactly the best host, but his soul had the right amount of space for such a powerful spirit like himself once he rid the poor child of that parasite.

When he left, he would be sure to leave a decent amount of magic so Eriol could sustain the level his small body was able to handle at the moment. If he didn't, Eriol could collapse of magical drain from his core trying to sustain that level without help.

Shortly after the Clow Cards were unsealed, Eriol decided on something he had been wanting to do for a while now.

He wanted to make his own cards.

"**Eriol, I'm not sure you can handle something that big just yet," **said Clow.

_~Isn't the entire point of making a familiar by following your directions to expand my magic so that I won't get killed when you leave?~_ countered Eriol.

"**Yes, but your core isn't strong enough right now to make your own cards. It took me decades to finish my set and I had a fully matured one to start with."**

Eriol considered that before he made another argument.

_~What if I start out small and work my way up to the big ones later? That way I'll at least have something to work with when I make the Sun Guardian.~_

"**That is possible, but which one were you planning to start with?"**

Eriol sent a picture of a bird. More specifically the FLY card.

"**Now that is doable with your current power levels. If you're really set on making your own deck, then we can start with FLY and slowly work our way up to the Elemental quartet and the Yin/Yang twins."**

Eriol beamed. Finally he would be making some headway into his magical studies!

* * *

Clow gave Eriol a book on how to make the first ten Cards. Once he had successfully created them, they would start on the next ten.

Eriol's first task was to create FLY, FLOWER, MIRROR, RAIN, SWEET, BUBBLE, JUMP, LOCK, SHIELD, and SWORD.

Eriol decided to start on the pictures for each card first.

Good thing Clow had gotten him interested in painting. He was a fair hand at it.

For FLY he decided against a white color, mostly because he wanted to be able to hide in the night sky when he flew. Big white wings were a bit of a tip off to the magicals. So he went with a deep, gorgeous raven black that turned blue in the right amount of sunlight.

It took him five tries until he was satisfied with the picture of a large black bird on the paper. He let the finished design dry as he went to work on his next Card.

For FLOWER he turned to his love of cartoons (particularly Japanese anime) for inspiration.

One of the shows he watched was a fighting series called _Yu Yu Hakusho, _and one of the characters on it used plants as weapons. His trademark one was called the Rose Whip and unlike Clow, Eriol was no pacifist. He wanted to be able to fight with even the most unassuming cards.

He couldn't wait to add a feature Clow hadn't thought of when he made his deck...the ability to combine cards for unexpected results.

Eriol made a credible recreation of Yoko Kurama (full demon form) with the background being several species of flowers, with a white rose in his hand. It took him three tries to get that one right.

Mirror was a bit trickier, but he got an idea from one of his manga called _Katana_. There was a picture of a silver dragon with two mirrors in each of it's front claws. It could reflect the true nature of things.

RAIN was easier...he just made a storm cloud with a tiny pixie that had monarch butterfly wings.

SWEET he based off a giggly little fairy with a lollipop for a wand that could change anything into sweets.

Eriol had a bit of fun with BUBBLE. He kept envisioning frogs for some reason, so he decided to make it so that a frog produced the bubbles when summoned. He could sense Clow's amusement at that one.

For JUMP he painted a large rabbit with powerful legs. It was a fuchsia colored bunny, not too dissimilar from the original.

LOCK was a thick padlock made of mithril with butterfly wings on either side. Eriol could just see someone tickling the LOCK's wings or answering a riddle to open it.

For SWORD Eriol made it a plain tachi bound by mulit-colored chains. It would give someone a decent ability towards using a sword, but the real power came when he combined it with the other cards. Depending on what was used in tandem with it, the SWORD it produced would change shape.

SHIELD was a multi-flowered petal, one that could change shape according to how much power was added to it. Eriol got the idea from something called an Aegis shield, which absorbed and redirected magic.

Once he was done with SHIELD, Eriol left the window open to let the air in. He took a shower and went right to sleep.

Clow's spirit manifested outside Eriol to look at his base.

He was rather pleased at the amount of detail Eriol put into his cards. He did have to wonder what Eriol was planning to do to put these wonderful pictures into card form though.

* * *

For the next two weeks Eriol copied, remade and painted magic circles according to what he wanted to do. He wanted each detail to be exact and perfect for his first card.

But first he had to make his familiar, the Sun Guardian. After all, FLY was under the Sun's influence. At least according to Clow anyway.

Considering Eriol planned to fly more at night when there was less traffic, he wanted to put it under the Moon. After all, WINDY and WATERY were Moon-based, and FLY fell under Ruby's jurisdiction.

Clow wanted the Sun Guardian out anyway, just so they wouldn't have to back track to it later.

Eriol waited until it was at the Summer Equinox before he started prepping.

**Harken oh Spirit of the Sun.**

**I am the one who speaks for the forces of the Yang.**

**Gather now and take form in this day.**

**Become my Sword and my Steed.**

**I beckon thee, take form!**

Eriol had memorized the chant and Clow made sure to speak the words in his mind so he didn't forget.

A large black cat, easily the size of an adult Nundu (one of the things Clow taught him was about magical creatures...the gryffin had inspired his original Sun guardian Keroberos only he reversed the lion and eagle parts) with sky blue wings. Like Ruby, they were butterfly shaped and very detailed.

The cat opened his eyes, and they were a deep blue color. Blue was Eriol's favorite color.

"_What is my name, Master?"_

"Guardian from this day forth you shall be known as Spinel Sun,"said Eriol with more confidence than he felt.

Spinel sat down and looked at his new Master and yawned. Several large teeth showed in his mouth, though they didn't make Eriol nervous.

"**Well done Eriol! He's perfectly formed and I can feel the connection. We'll wait until the next full moon before we try starting your deck,"**said Clow proudly.

However Eriol could feel the drain on his magic, and he was on the verge of passing out. Maintaining a single Guardian on his own at full power was too much for the nine-year-old.

Spinel covered himself with his wings, and Eriol could feel the magic build up. Suddenly the wing shrank away revealing a blue kitten with tiny wings. The drain on his magic was less intense, so he was able to stand upright.

"Is this better Master?" asked Spinel. His voice was less deep and he looked absolutely adorable.

"Eriol is fine. I don't like being called Master," said Eriol quickly. He had nipped that habit in the bud with Ruby within days too. Now she just called him her little brother.

Eriol slept for a week (or so it seemed to him) before he was able to resume his studies.

"**This is exactly why I said you weren't ready to make the Cards. It's a good thing that both Guardians are made with a power-save mode, or you would be drained dry in hours,"**complained Clow.

"Yes, but once my core accepts the new drain it will grow and become stronger so long as I rest between use, right?"

"**The only reason I agreed to let you do it is because you wanted to start small,"**said Clow.

"Still... I can't wait to turn those paintings into Clow Cards!"

Clow blinked.

"**What do you mean?"**

"There's no way I could recreate them, so I thought it would be easier to use the paintings directly and add spirits to them. A little alchemy and some spells, and they would be small enough to carry!"

"**Is that why you used your special paints when you made the final ones?**"

Eriol had a special set of paints for magical work. Usually with some special property added to it. Some of the red paints had blood or crushed rubies in them.

"It was easier to do the details if I made them big at first. I can always make them smaller later right?"

Clow conceded that point. It was easier to make a bigger one first and then shrink it than it was to do a small card. He wondered why he hadn't thought of that one when he made his set.

"Tonight's the full moon, so we can make the FLY, right?"

"**One card a month, at least until you get used to the strain."**

* * *

Eriol placed the picture of the oddly shaped black bird in the middle of his alchemic circle. If everything went like he planned, the painting would shrink and become a card instead. He had put so much care and detail into his paintings that he hoped the spirit that would be attracted to it would be happy.

There was a reason why Clow's infamous cards were so powerful. He had bound lonely spirits from all over nature into the cards to give them life. He had promised that only kind, loving masters would possess the cards, and that any who tried to use them for bad reasons would be punished harshly by the guardians he had made.

There was a reason why Yue, the silent and rather cold Moon Guardian, was the Judge of whether or not the inheritors were worthy. Keroberos was too open and naïve to properly judge whether a human was worthy of such powerful magic.

Eriol checked (for the tenth time) on his circle before he took a deep breath and brought out the staff he had ordered from the goblins as Clow. It would change once Clow finally passed on, but until then he had to make do with what he had.

He waited for the moon to reach it's peak before he started chanting.

_**I am one who speaks for the voice of the Night**_

_**I am one who hears the song of the Sky**_

_**By this covenant, I bind thee to this form**_

_**If you abide by this will and reason, take form!**_

_**Hear me, spirits of the world and answer!**_

_**Under this name, I call upon your power!**_

_**FLY!**_

The painting began to spin on one corner rapidly and something massive hit it. It shrank until it became the size of a tarot card, and a midnight blue background formed on the back of it. It looked very similar to a Clow Card, but the circle on the back was more Moon oriented compared to the ones Clow had made centuries ago.

That was to be expected, as Clow had noticed that Eriol's magic was more oriented towards the Moon than to the Sun like his. His very nature amplified certain magics that grew more powerful during the night.

Eriol waited for the magic to die down before he picked up his card.

He felt like dancing. He had made his first card!


	2. Chapter 2

Once he got used to the strain of making cards (he had already made FLOWER, SWORD and SHIELD shortly after he created FLY) Clow let him finish the rest on his own. It appeared as though his worries for Eriol's core were for nothing.

However he was still banned from making the Elemental or the Yin/Yang set. At least until Clow felt that Eriol could handle such a massive undertaking.

_He_ had barely succeeded in making them, and he had known exactly what he was summoning at the time!

However, certain forces had taken note someone was creating a new deck, and they wanted to test Eriol.

For the past week Eriol had been painting almost feverishly the designs for the Elemental set. Clow had let him, since Eriol had promised not to try to create them until later, but the fact remained that he had been almost driven to make the four Elements early.

There was going to be a solar eclipse as the moon passed in front of the sun later that month. Yin magic would be stronger for a brief period of time, and it would have been the perfect moment to make a few extra cards.

However Eriol wanted to witness the eclipse first.

* * *

"Wow," said Eriol. Clow had to agree, it was a sight that many rarely got to see.

Suddenly Clow yawned. Eriol realized that for some reason, the soul inside of him was falling asleep.

The moment he fell asleep, something took hold of Eriol, Ruby and Spinel.

Underneath Eriol, a massive circle appeared.

Spinel and Ruby took positions beside him, their true forms unbound for the first time since they were created. Both of them were in a submissive posture as the four paintings which would become the Elemental Cards flew out of the open window and took position in front of Eriol.

In his hands, Eriol's staff appeared. There was a great wind as the circle glowed bright.

_**I am one who speaks for the Night**_

_**I am one who hears the voice of the Sky**_

_**If thou abides by this Will and Reason**_

_**Take form under this covenant**_

_**I call upon the power of the Gods to bless these cards**_

_**Should this vessel prove unworthy, strike down this form**_

_**I summon you...**_

_**FIRE**_

_**WATER**_

_**EARTH **_

_**WIND!**_

The paintings glowed as four very powerful spirits took note of Eriol.

**So you are the one who seeks to recreate Clow's work. And you carry his spirit no less,** said a gravelly voice. It came from the painting of Earth.

**He is young. Too young to fully comprehend the force he seeks to control,** spoke a calm breezy voice.

**He does not seek this power for greed or gain, only to make his Father proud. The last time someone so innocent called upon us was when Clow first tried to bind us to his cards,** spoke a fluid voice.

**Hmph. Clow was too arrogant and manipulative for my tastes. However this boy has potential to be great. Shall we test him and his connection to Clow?**

**Agreed. We shall test to see if Clow truly is in control...and perhaps a reward should be given if they pass,**said the fluid voice.

**A reward? I should think being able to use a portion of our powers would be reward enough!** Spoke the fiery one.

**Don't play the fool. You've seen this child's future should he survive as well as we. He will need all the help he can get to live through what that **_wizard_** has planned.**

**What do you suggest,** asked the gravelly voice.

**A temporary rebirth. At least until the child is strong enough to survive without his presence. Fate owes him that much for ruining his life,** said the fluid voice.

The other three agreed that was a decent enough reward. The four paintings became WATER, FIRE, EARTH and WIND. Eriol collapsed under the strain and Ruby came too long enough to get him inside. He wouldn't wake for a week, but when he did Clow was very angry with him.

All the completed paintings he had been saving for later had turned into cards inside his art room. Including the Elementals, which was the real reason Clow was so upset.

* * *

Eriol was miserable. Aside from telling him which books he should read next, Clow had stopped talking to him. It had been like that for nearly a month since the solar eclipse.

He didn't know how he had made all those cards, or why the Elementals had been created. He had blacked out shortly after the eclipse had reached it's peak.

Why was Clow punishing him for something he didn't do?

It was like... no, he wouldn't think about that place. He had sworn to himself after Clow had more or less bonded to his body that he would never remember that horrible house or the people in it. Ever since that day he had taken the name Eriol Hiiragizawa (Clow had picked the name) that he would never look back to those days.

But still...the continued cold shoulder for something he had nothing to do with outside of painting was starting to hurt. In more ways than one.

Ruby watched her Master with concern. Ever since Clow started to give Eriol the cold shoulder, he had been getting weaker and weaker for days. He barely ate, he almost never slept, and he hadn't made a new painting in days. It was like the life was being sucked right out of him.

Spinel knew that something was terribly wrong with Eriol. He put on a brave front, but that was all it was. A mask to hide his pain. Clow was too upset about the Elements being made to realize the damage he was doing to his vessel.

Eriol didn't care about the powers he would gain once he finished the cards, or the amount of prestige he would get among the magicals of the world. His only thought was of making Clow, the man he viewed as his father, proud of him. Proud of the things he could accomplish as his apprentice.

Finally, a little over a month after the cards were made without Eriol's knowledge over what was happening, he collapsed at his desk, book falling to the floor with him.

Ruby heard the sound from across the room and cried out in alarm.

"Eriol!"

* * *

Clow was in full control of Eriol's body. The child spirit had vanished, or at least most of it had. The collapse was just the outward sign of his soul giving up.

He couldn't understand why this had happened. He had been upset that Eriol had made the cards too early, but he never wanted the boy to fall into a deep coma!

It wasn't until he found where it had gone and felt the rejection of his presence that he finally remembered something about Eriol.

The boy had been heavily abused and neglected before he had found him. The first few months alone had been trying on his kind nature at the amount of neglect and outright refusal to acknowledge the boy as kin. Eriol had done anything and everything Clow had asked of him, just because he had given the child even the smallest amount of human interaction.

So the fact Clow, who was the first soul to even recognize his existence as a fellow human and who had practically trained him in his magic, had given him the cold shoulder was a devastating blow to the boy's psyche.

Clow felt like a fool. How could he had forgotten just how dependent Eriol was on him for comfort and support?

"_Ruby...exactly what happened the day of the eclipse?"_

Ruby glared at him, but told him about how the four gods of the East had taken note that Eriol was recreating Clow's cards from scratch and had devised a test for him. It was their doing that all the cards in the study where Eriol had left the paints had been made without his input. The four Elements and the Element of Wood were waiting to see how Eriol would survive this test before he could even consider using them.

Clow was stunned. He had tried to bind the four gods of the East, or at least a small portion of them into the cards to make them as powerful as he could, but they had refused his summons. He had been forced to live with some extremely powerful elemental spirits who were drawn to his power instead.

So why did they answer Eriol's call instead?

* * *

Eriol was in a warm place. It didn't have any pain, any sorrow or fear, just the feeling of being loved and protected. However he could feel something was being very strained the longer he was there.

He suspected that strained feeling was the connection to his body. It would be so easy to give up and let his soul break away...but he would miss Spinel and Ruby.

Every time he opened his eyes he saw a comforting darkness surrounding an expanse of light. He had always felt better in the night time than he had during the day. Daylight hid the monsters. At night they felt no need to hide what they were from the world...he preferred to see such evil exposed for what it was rather than see a mask.

He had felt Clow's presence, but the pain of being ignored, of being rejected by the man he considered his father, was still too strong. Clow refused to believe him when he said that he had not created the cards on the eclipse, and the resulting cold shoulder had hurt worse than any physical wound. He never wanted to disappoint Clow. But disappointment for something like this?

Eriol shivered and the warmth got stronger as the feeling of being held by something gentle and kind enveloped him.

He had the feeling that LIGHT and DARK, cards he had yet to make because they had to be created together, were trying to keep him alive until something happened.

Eriol passed the time envisioning what they would look like once he made them. He had the perfect forms for them, but only the gods would know if he would have the chance to make them.

* * *

Clow Reed, one of the most powerful Sorcerers ever to be born, was going to do one of the most dangerous things he had ever tried. Even making the Clow Cards had been cakewalk compared to this.

He was going to dive into the soul of a broken child. Doing something like that was considered a personal act even when the soul was stable and whole. Touching the soul of another was considered more personal than sharing one's bed with a lover. Only soul mates could do so naturally, and even then they barely touched upon the deeper parts.

He took a deep calming breath...and fell.

The first thing he noticed was the light. Images of memories passed by and he took note of them.

For the first year everything was fine...then came a horrible night during Samhain. Clow witnessed the death of Eriol's birth parents at the hand of a wizard. Witnessed a man he had taught back in school leave the child with the worst possible guardians. Watched for three and a half painful years as the boy was ignored, cast aside and even hated by his own blood. Kept in something that could barely be called a closet at best.

He saw the night he found Eriol and offered to take him away, in exchange for sharing his body for a time so that he could insure his Cards were in good hands.

From there the memories came faster...right until he saw the moment of the eclipse.

Clow watched as the Four Gods, Suzaku, Seiryuu, Genbu and Byakko all appeared to Eriol and discuss their plans in front of him. He couldn't hear the last part, as that was obscured from him specifically, but he got the gist that something would change should they pass this test.

Then he found a small orb of dark magic, just the right size for someone like Eriol if he were curled up, floating around. It had a thin string of magic connecting him to his body, one that was getting thinner and weaker the longer he floated.

Clow tried to approach it, but was repulsed.

It took him a moment to realize why.

The DARK card was shielding Eriol from him. The source of his pain. LIGHT was giving DARK a hand by giving them a clear view of where they were.

Clow knew he didn't have much time. The longer Eriol was here, the smaller the chance he would have at returning to his own body.

He tried to approach again. DARK grew more agitated, calling on SHADOW to help defend Eriol.

"Please... I need to speak to him."

DARK seemed to consider this. Clow waited patiently for Eriol to learn what was going on. Slowly the orb receded, but it kept close.

Eriol was so frail and weak. How could he have ignored what was happening to the boy for so long? Why did he forget that Eriol was a master of hiding the pain he was in?

Clow gently pulled the boy close. Eriol seemed to have trouble considering whether to curl up closer to the warmth or not. He made the decision for him, holding the boy gently.

_You're not mad at me are you?_ asked Eriol.

"I saw what happened. I'm sorry...I should have asked Ruby whether or not you made those Cards."

Eriol flinched, and DARK reared up.

"I should have believed you when you said you didn't make them...especially since the others in the study were on the floor when you came to," said Clow.

Eriol loved his Cards like they were family. It was why they responded so well to him.

_I don't want to go back...it hurts._

"Life is full of pain...but it's also full of things that can dull it."

Eriol curled closer to Clow.

The sorcerer cursed himself for a fool. He had been so intent on training Eriol and making sure that he would be strong enough for the trials of the next master of the Cards that he had forgotten the important fact that Eriol was still a child. An abused one at that. He needed support and comfort just as much as he needed training for his magic.

He was no better than that fool Albus who had gotten so caught up in his concept of Greater Good that he forgot that the pawns he used to get his goals done were people. People with dreams and plans of their own.

LIGHT and DARK converged on them. Eriol's connection was about to be broken.

"Do you want to go back?"

Eriol thought about it.

_I miss Spinel and Ruby._

The two found themselves back in Eriol's mind-space, which looked like his study with all the paintings he had made and those he planned to do. The two for LIGHT and DARK were glowing rather strongly.

Eriol's mind, still rather damaged, touched the DARK one without hesitation and he vanished. Clow touched the LIGHT one, and found himself someplace else.

Eriol would sleep off the events for the next few days.

* * *

Clow found himself before four great beings. It didn't take a genius to figure out that these were the Four Gods who had temporarily taken over Eriol and the others.

**Well done Clow Reed. You have come a very long way from the arrogant sorcerer who tried to use our powers for prestige,**said Seiryuu.

"Will he survive?"

**Eriol will not only recover, but his reserves will grow enough that he can finish his deck rather quickly once he paints them,**said Suzaku. He was partial to the child.

"Why did you do that to him?"

**He is the first Sorcerer born since your death. We needed to be sure he could handle the trials ahead. Your Heir and Successor has the potential as well, but she is not ready for our trials,** said Byakko. He had been keeping an eye on her since Keroberos chose her as his next Master.

**The fact Eriol's core could handle our presence meant he had the chance to survive this task. However there is a small...problem,** said Seiryuu.

"Problem?"

**Albus Dumbledore seeks to use the child to end the one who murdered the boy's parents. If he has his way, the boy will be broken beyond repair or worse. And Fate owes the boy for ruining his life. So we made a deal with Death. If you successfully brought the boy back then we would give you a temporary body until he can stand on his own without having to rely on your powers to survive_, _**said Genbu.

Clow's plan was to leave enough of his magic to keep Eriol from dying of magical drain.

"What can I do? I'm already teaching the boy."

**You can be something that the boy has been denied because of Dumbledore's manipulations. You can be his father**, said Seiryuu.

Clow was floored. He had never had any children. He had plenty of lovers, but never any children. It was why he had passed his Cards and Guardians on to whomever could bring Keroberos out.

**This is only a temporary solution. Eriol will become the next Sorcerer, but he is too young and he cannot sustain the Guardians true forms alone. Once he takes your place as a Sorcerer, you will have to pass on. Do you accept this agreement?**

Clow normally wouldn't have agree to such a plan. His time was over, and he had only intended to stay until he was sure that the girl he had seen could truly master his Cards. Sure he would leave a good portion of his power with Eriol, but he never intended to stay.

But... he had failed Eriol and he was the closest thing to a parent that boy had. Ruby was more of an older sister, and he knew the Ministry wouldn't accept her claim of being his magical guardian. And the thought of Dumbledore forcing the boy back to his 'relatives' made him sick to his stomach. Eriol would be broken if he ever went back to that house.

"I accept."


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing Eriol noticed when he woke up was the sound of humming. It was a low, male tone and he knew Spinel didn't hum. The second thing he noticed was the warm body of something big and furry around him.

It took him a moment to realize that it was Spinel, in his true form.

Eriol felt a warm, callused hand brush some of his hair out of his face. It was far too big to be Ruby's and her hands didn't have that feeling to them.

When he finally dared to open his eyes, he came face-to-face with someone he had only seen in his mind.

Clow Reed.

"Am I still dreaming?" he asked sleepily.

"No. Apparently this whole mess was a test. One mainly geared towards me, but also for you as well."

"So...you're really here?" asked Eriol. He hugged the massive neck of Spinel, who didn't even wake up.

"I've been given a temporary body. One that will allow me to interact with the world without you having to give me control. And before you ask, that doesn't mean that I won't still need you," said Clow.

Eriol noticed an odd parchment on the desk. It had an official looking seal on it.

"What's that?"

Clow smiled and handed it over to him so he could read it. He had caused quite the stir when he had shown up at Gringotts...even more so when they learned _why_ he was alive again in his prime.

Fortunately the only ones who even knew _who_ he was were too old and not likely to visit Gringotts. And Dumbledore was in the Ministry that day. Still, the goblins had been more than helpful when they learned Eriol was to take Clow's place as the next natural Sorcerer.

The paperwork had been filed and approved in less than an hour once it hit the appropriate Ministry desk.

Eriol's eyes doubled in size.

"You... you adopted me?"

"Officially your name is now Eriol Reed. I've settled the account with the goblins. Once you and the girl I saw in my vision come of age, the vaults will be split evenly between you. While this girl will be my Heir and Successor, you will be known as my son and apprentice. It grants you both an equal say in my fortune."

And hadn't that been a mess and a half to settle with the goblin. The girl, (who Clow finally learned the name of) Sakura, was his 'heir' in terms of his greatest work. That entitled her to his vault according to goblin law. However since Clow was legally adopting Eriol as his son, that gave the boy an equal share...especially since he was also registered as his apprentice.

As an added bonus, Clow had overridden the order from Dumbledore to seal the will of the Potter family, and had the goblins enact it.

Several people had gotten quite the shock when that happened, particularly when the truth about Sirius Black being a magically _bound_ godfather to the Potter's only son had come out.

Magically bound godparents could not harm the child, or bring the child to harm with direct action. Actions such as leading a dark lord right to their doorstep.

When Clow left London, he heard word that Sirius was finally being given the trial he had been denied for the past nine years. However since Eriol had legally changed his name, he couldn't get custody even if he tried.

Especially since Clow had just adopted him in both worlds.

Eriol was overcome with emotion, and he let his tears flow when Clow gently hugged him and rubbed his back. Eriol had been through enough for one lifetime...he needed some good news for a change.

* * *

The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

Shortly after Clow's "return" to the living, Eriol found a pair of cards that hadn't been there when he had collapsed.

LIGHT and DARK had taken form without being painted...a sort of apology from the gods for putting him through that.

Sirius Black had been freed, but he was now searching for his godson.

The woman who had taken him in, his maternal aunt, had no idea where the boy was nor did she care. Sirius hexed her good and proper the moment he learned what the boy had gone through before he even had a chance to attend school.

Because of the minor power boost the gods had given Eriol, he was now able to create three cards at a time. With the major ones already created, he finished his deck in a few short months.

He called them the Night Cards, rather than Eriol Cards.

Which brought up an interesting question.

"Just how are we going to test this Sakura girl anyway? I mean you're no longer attached to me, so our original plan is shot..." asked Eriol.

He had become a little more confident after the adoption and learning Clow would at least remember to ask him what really happened before he got angry again.

At this point Clow was just glad the Li family hadn't found out he was 'alive' again just yet. They could make things more complicated than Eriol needed.

Clow suddenly went ramrod straight as he felt his presence was required. He came face-to-face with an old lover and finally saw the girl he knew was his heir.

Sakura was doing fine, though her powers were still rather unstable. She would have a long way to go before she could truly master his legacy.

And unlike Eriol, Sakura clearly had no prior magical training. She barely scraped the surface of his magic.

"Dad? What's wrong?" asked Eriol.

Clow patted Eriol's head.

"Nothing. My presence was required to help Sakura deal with an old flame of mine."

"What's she like?"

"She's still a beginner. From what I saw of her magic, she's barely even scraped the surface of the cards."

Suddenly the idea of leaving a bell behind didn't sound so silly. That girl would need all the help she could get when she finally faced Yue!

Clow and Eriol were finishing up another round of alchemy training when they felt the pulse.

Yue had been awakened. Clow brought out a mirror so they could watch the battle.

Eriol winced as he saw how half-baked Sakura seemed to go about using her magic.

"She really is a rookie isn't she?" he said.

"I've got an idea. How about a little competition between you and her once she beats Yue?"

Eriol blinked.

"Competition?"

"A little taste of what she'll be learning once she truly masters the cards. I've seen visions of her using ones that I've never made, so I know she has the potential to make her own cards."

"So she's a fellow Sorcerer?"

Only the most powerful of magicals could be called sorcerer. They had the potential to create new magic, and kept the powers that ran inside the magical ley lines fresh and flowing. Clow Reed was the last naturally born sorcerer in the past three hundred years...though now that bragging right belonged to Eriol.

Originally it had been sealed by his parents, who feared the accidental magic might hurt him. But Clow broke that binding when he bonded with Eriol.

If Sakura had the potential to be a sorceress (something that hadn't happened in over _five_ hundred years) then she definitely needed training.

Too bad she was already destined for another, or Clow would definitely try to set her and Eriol up, just to see what would come out of such a union.

Oh well.

"Why not test the powers of your cards against hers? You can even see if those special abilities you added to them will work by letting Ruby and Spinel use them too."

Clow might have helped Eriol with the base, but some of the things he had added to the cards definitely weren't in the original ones.

Abilities like being able to combine them into new forms, or giving the Guardians the power to use the cards directly with his consent. Even his Guardians, Keroberos and Yue, had to have his help in using the cards.

"That...sounds like fun actually. Sakura will eventually have to change the cards, so why train her in battle tactics and thinking outside the box as well? But what about you? If they see you then they'll know something's up," said Eriol.

"Which is why _I_ won't be leaving the house. At least not until the final test is ready. This will be a test for you as well, because you'll need to learn how to use and control your new Cards properly. And I know that the elementals won't be that easy to handle, since unlike mine yours are powered directly by the gods themselves."

Using LIGHT and DARK would be infinitely safer than using the elementals.

* * *

Eriol had been having nightmares lately, so he decided to use DREAM to get some only downside was that it would give him a vision of the future to come.

He could live with a warning if he could get some sleep.

_Eriol was in the butterfly gardens of the Palace. The Queen had learned of Clow's temporary return and wished to see for herself the child he had chosen as her apprentice._

_Eriol had no interest in the talks of the older crowd, so the Queen had given him leave to explore the gardens with Spinel on his shoulder while Ruby stayed by Clow. They acted as bodyguards for the two._

_In Eriol's pocket were the Night Cards, and around his neck was the key to using them._

_Clow's staff, which had taken a rather gaudy form, had shrunken and changed to fit Eriol once he had his own body. He could still use it, but any major workings would require Clow to hold it with him as he guided the magic._

_Eriol was admiring the butterflies when another man approached. He was really familiar, but there was something really wrong with him. Like his soul had been slowly eaten by demons._

_He might look sane, but the man needed some serious healing before his magic and soul would be normal again._

_He was quite dangerous._

"_Pup?"_

_Spinel growled._

_The man stared at the odd cat on Eriol's shoulder._

"_Pup!"_

_Spinel transformed into his true form and stood guard in front of Eriol._

_Eriol looked behind and sent a panicked mental shout to Clow._

_~DAD!~_

Morning light broke the dream sequence.

Eriol woke up with a cold sweat. That was intense.

* * *

"So the Queen learned of my brief return and called us to the palace?" asked Clow.

"Yeah. And there was another man there too. He looked like he had been slowly devoured by demons...his soul was a mess."

Clow took out a mirror and brought up a face.

"That's him!"

"Sirius Black. Your godfather, who was illegally kept in Azkaban until I adopted you and overrode Dumbledore's ruling on your parent's will."

Eriol looked nervous.

"Don't worry. If Dumbledore can't force me to return you to those people then he won't either. Though from what you've said about his soul we'll have to make him go through therapy before he's allowed to see you," said Clow.

"How come?"

"Sorcerers outrank any wizards. They're considered the voice of Magic because they alone have the power or talent to successfully create new magic in the world. Dumbledore can posture all he likes, but compared to me he's small fry. The only wizard who could possibly match us is someone who's a mere legend at best...and even then the burden of they're power is heavy."

"Who?"

"The Master of Death. Centuries ago, the spectre of Death appeared to three brothers. One was granted a wand made by Death, guaranteeing that no matter what spell they cast it will be powerful beyond compare. One was granted the ability to speak to the dead to a point. And the last one was granted a cloak that would allow them to escape Death's notice until it was their time to go. One of these items alone would be very powerful, but they were each cursed. These artifacts are called the Deathly Hallows."

"What happened to them?"

"Death claimed the first and second brother. Their arrogance and foolishness lead to their downfall. The third one lived a long life and when Death came for him he greeted him as an old friend. The first brother bragged about his new wand, and was killed for it. The second brought back his dead fiance, but despair at the fact she was little more than a hollow shell made him give up his own life."

"Wow."

"Legend has it that whomever can bring together all three artifacts would be called the Master of Death. Death's equal among mortals. That much power would easily put a wizard on the same standing as a natural sorcerer, though that power is only borrowed and not their own."

"Power gained from outside influence should never be over-relied upon. Power gained through experience and effort never fails unless you let it," said Eriol dutifully.

"Very good Eriol."

It was less than a week after the dream that it came true. The Queen had heard through some of her goblin contacts that Clow Reed, the last true Sorcerer, was alive again for the moment. And she wanted to meet him in hopes that he could help her improve the Ministry of Magic.

Eriol was invited to when she learned of Clow's adoption.

* * *

Eriol was given permission to see the gardens and Spinel went with him. If his dream really was going to come true, he would feel a lot better having the Sun guardian with him instead of Ruby.

Even someone like Black would respect a large cat the size of an adult Nundu growling at him. And Eriol could ride him to escape.

Sure enough, Black was at the palace as well, and he left the building to get some fresh air when he spotted Eriol heading into the gardens. The green eyes and faded scar tipped him off that Eriol might be his godson.

Eriol tensed when he saw the man, and just as the dream had told him, Spinel took one look at his soul and went into his true form to warn Black away.

Seeing the wand in the man's hand, Eriol climbed onto Spinel's back and held his key tightly in his hand.

"Pup, step away from the Nundu," said Black. He clearly believed Eriol didn't know what Spinel was, or he ignored the fact that the cat clearly didn't care if Eriol was on his back.

"Actually Mr. Black, Eriol here is Spinel's master. He's safer on his familiar than you would be if you came too close," said Clow, having heard Eriol's distressed call.

Ruby was right behind him, and she was quick to back up Spinel.

"Eriol?"

"Your godson was kind enough to help me out when I needed it, and in exchange I took him as my apprentice. Because of recent events I have adopted him as my own."

"And you are?"

"Clow Reed. I see you've heard of me."

"More like I've seen your portrait once in the Headmaster's office. Didn't you die over a century ago?"

"I was given a temporary revival because of a small matter. Mostly so I can train _Eriol_ here properly," said Clow.

Seeing that Black wasn't about to kidnap Eriol, the boy looked at his father.

"Eriol, why don't you go see the back gardens with Ruby and Spinel while I explain things properly to Mr. Black?"

"Okay dad."

Eriol returned in time for tea with Spinel and Ruby. Black had already left, but Clow had told him he would be back later. Once his soul and magic had recovered from Azkaban enough that Eriol would avoid him on sight.


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura had passed the final battle, which meant they had to go to Japan for a few months. Eriol didn't mind as Tomoeda had a rather large garden that hosted tea time with butterflies. Besides, he had always wanted to see Japan's famous cherry blossom trees in bloom. Seeing Clow's memories of them just didn't do them justice.

"Oh wow!" said Eriol.

They had come to Clow's old mansion, still in the family and near the town. Thanks to his visions, Clow knew where the next master would be so he had made sure to have a home nearby.

"You get to pick your room."

"Really?" said Eriol, "Come on Spinel, let's go find our new room!"

Clow smiled. It was good to see Eriol finally act his age.

* * *

"Everyone! We have a new transfer from England. You can come in now," said the teacher.

Eriol walked in, wearing his brand new uniform. He had a new pair of glasses on too.

"Konnichiwa. Watashi wa Reed Eriol," said Eriol in his best Japanese. He was still getting the hang of it. His accent was a bit off though, but they still understood the basic gist of what he said.

_'Reed? I wonder if he's related to Clow...'_ thought Sakura.

"Eriol here recently moved to Tomoeda with his father and older sister. His Japanese might be a bit off, so please help him out."

"Hai!"

Eriol spotted Yue's human form first. Clow had asked him to prank his former Guardians (the minute she beat Yue they became Sakura's guardians) so Eriol grinned. He sent a shot of Clow Reed's magic and made the teen stumble a bit before his eyes flashed to ice blue.

Yue felt that magic, and he wanted to know why Clow was showing up now. Too bad Sakura hadn't brought her cards with her...Eriol could have wrecked some havoc and started her off.

He went back into class, but the damage was done. Yue knew something was about to happen.

* * *

"Ready Spinel?"

"Ready."

Eriol got onto Spinel Sun's back and they took off. Time to cause some chaos. Eriol's face was hidden by a rather clever mask, one that made him look like a smiling cat. He even had a pair of kitty ears on his head, to Clow's open amusement.

Sakura would be unable to tell who he was, especially since he planned to speak English instead of Japanese. Keroberos could translate for her.

Eriol selected three cards. RAIN, THUNDER and SHADOW. He planned to give her a light scare.

"_Key that hides the forces of the Night_

_Show me your true form! _

_By the covenant, I, Eriol, Command you!_

_RELEASE!"_

Clow had modified his staff so that it had a similar activating phrase to the one Sakura had. If Sakura was going to be a starry beacon, then she would need the night to make her light clearer to others. And Eriol's power was over the night. The two would make a formidable team.

"RAIN! THUNDER! SHADOW! Create a storm to draw her out!" said Eriol.

He slammed his staff onto the middle card and all of a sudden a dark and forbidding storm formed. It was clearly magical in origin, and Eriol was riding above it, waiting for Sakura to see it and come out.

It didn't take her long, though he did have to wonder about the costume. She was riding Keroberos because of the wind, but once she was above the cloud line she activated FLY. Eriol stared in disbelief...before he face-palmed.

"_I knew you were a greenhorn, but this? Haven't you learned how to use the cards correctly yet?" _he said loud enough for Keroberos to hear and hopefully translate.

"_Who are you and why did you create this storm?"_ shouted Keroberos in English.

"_I am Midnight. I have come from Europe to challenge your Mistress' claim as Master of the Clow Cards. If she wants this storm to end, she must prove she can actually _use_ them correctly."_

He wasn't just going to test her knowledge, but also her reserves. Yue flew up above the clouds, only to be blocked by Ruby.

"Uh-uh big boy! You'll have to play with me instead!" said Ruby with glee. The shocked look on Yue's face was priceless.

Eriol looked at Sakura, who was understandably nervous. Still, she brought out her Star Key and tried to make 'Midnight' dispel the storm.

It was over before it began. She was such a greenhorn that it would have made any serious practitioner weep. However, since Eriol was just there to push her in the right direction and help her truly master the cards, he just sighed as he dodged yet another attack by Keroberos.

"_Is this truly the best Clow's successor can do? This is disappointing. I will let you leave for now, Sakura-san, but until you learn how to use those cards correctly this storm stays,"_ said Midnight, his disappointment in her performance evident in his voice.

Sakura, when she heard the translated version from Keroberos, looked very upset that the storm wasn't going away. Even after she had transformed three cards and was at her limit.

* * *

Eriol sagged into his bed.

"How did it go?"

"She's beyond green. She could barely do three cards, and we both know that changing their allegiance is infinitely less taxing than creating new ones," said Eriol.

Clow looked at the 'storm' outside.

"That bad?"

"She was riding her _key_ with FLY for crying out loud!"

Clow winced. He hadn't thought she was that much of a rookie.

"You will point her in the right direction won't you?"

"Of course I will! I'll give her a hint as to which three I used so she can 'counter' them with hers. Once she gets the idea of this game she should get a little better."

* * *

Sakura was inside eating lunch when Eriol sat nearby.

"Can I sit here?"

"Sure! This storm is awful isn't it?"

"It's certainly different. Who knew that Japanese storms cast such long _shadows_. Or that there would be so much thunder without any lightning?"

Sakura stopped eating and actually _looked_ at the storm. The shadows were rather deep, but she knew from flying up with Kero that the clouds were very thin. Too thin for this to be a natural storm. Seeing one of the shadows touched the ground her eyes widened in realization.

"Did you know that some fortune tellers actually _combine_ their cards to get a more accurate reading?" asked Eriol.

Seeing that Sakura was still very clueless that he knew more than he let on, Eriol winced.

This girl wasn't inspiring any confidence in him as a fellow sorcerer.

Midnight made a second appearance and watched as Sakura figured out two of the three cards used. Really, she should have guessed the third by the fact it hadn't stopped raining once. At all.

She stopped the lightning and the dark clouds, but the rain was still going on.

"_You missed one,"_ he deadpanned.

Sakura looked at the clouds and turned STORM. Midnight face-palmed.

"_WRONG. Use your head!"_

Sakura tried again, this time using RAIN. Finally it stopped and the three cards were again in Midnight's hand.

"_Stop! Who are you? Why did you do this?" _demanded Keroberos.

Eriol's limited patience with idiots nearly snapped. Fortunately Spinel growled to remind him he had a job to do.

"_Are you really that naïve? The girl has the potential to be a _sorcerer_. Why don't you figure out my real motives on your own!"_ said Eriol before they left.

Keroberos was startled at that news. Clearly he needed to cut down on the sweets and remember his true nature if he hadn't sensed that.

* * *

Eriol was bored. Aside from the tests he gave Sakura (and for some reason Yue and Keroberos had _yet_ to figure out it was him causing all this trouble) he had nothing to do.

Clow refused to have any practical magic lessons so long as the guardians were unaware of him being around. And the homework was far too easy for someone who had already finished high school.

So he went exploring...and found a school for Japanese martial arts.

"Hello! Interested in martial arts?" asked the sensei.

"I know some Chinese Kempo...but my sensei said that while I'm adjusting to school I'll have to wait until things calm down before he teaches me anymore."

"Does he have anything against you learning a new art?"

Eriol shook his head.

"He'd probably be thrilled. He's always telling me to learn new things... Dad's always trying something new," said Eriol.

"Your teacher is your father?"

Eriol nodded.

"He's half Chinese, and he learned it from his mother. And I'm learning from him!"

"My next class is in a hour. Why don't you call your father and let him know first, then you can join," said the teacher.

"Hai!"

Clow was all for it, and Ruby came over to watch Eriol.

Eriol enjoyed learning new forms. It kept life interesting.

* * *

"Eh? You're learning a new martial art Eriol-kun?" asked Sakura the next day.

"I found a small dojo and Otou-san said it was fine. He said it was a good way to get acclimated to Japan, since we're originally from Europe," said Eriol.

"What sort of style did you use before?" asked Tomoyo.

"Chinese Kenpo. Otou-san learned it from his mother, and he's been teaching me."

"Sounds a lot like Li-kun," said Tomoyo.

"Li-kun?"

"He was a student here a few months ago, but his clan called him back for a while," explained Tomoyo.

"Is he by any chance related to the magical clan known as the Li? Masters of the traditional Eastern magical arts?" asked Eriol. Clow was from the Li clan...and he had sensed a second possible master that had a familiar Eastern feel towards it.

"You know magic?" asked Sakura.

"My dad had magical training. He's been teaching me, but since I'm still adjusting we've been limited to book work," said Eriol. He looked at Tomoyo, "You have magic too, though it's nowhere near as strong as Sakura-san's."

"I have magic?"

"Enough to rate as a hedge-witch, though if you practiced enough you might make a full one," confirmed Eriol.

"Hedge-witch?" asked Sakura.

"There are several levels of power. In Europe the female class is called Witch, and the male is called Wizard...though if they use too much dark magic they get classified as Warlocks. I can see if Otou-san would let me show you some magic later, or at least get you in contact with the local schools."

"What's the bottom and the top?" asked Tomoyo.

"Lowest of the magicals is the Squib, according to the European Ministry. That's someone born of a magical clan without the ability to use it. They can still get past magical barriers and the like, but they can't use it themselves. At the highest of any ladder, Eastern or Western is the Sorcerer. Or Sorceress if they're female. Sorcerers have the ability and magical core strong enough to create new magic, though without the proper teachings they have great trouble doing it. One of the last naturally born sorcerers was Clow Reed, a man who was born of both Eastern and Western magical branches from two pure-blood families."

"You know Clow Reed?" asked Sakura.

"I know his entire history. His work has always fascinated me."

"Can we hear more about him?" asked Tomoyo eagerly.

"Maybe later. The lunch bell is about to ring," said Eriol.

* * *

_In Hong Kong..._

Syaoran was nervous. His clan had called him back shortly after the test and he was afraid that they would cast him out nameless.

"Son."

"Mother."

"I assume you wish to know why you were recalled?"

Syaoran nodded.

"We have sensed the return of Clow."

"Sakura took possession of the cards."

"Not his legacy... I speak of the man himself. There is another as well, one much stronger but weaker at the same time. We needed to insure that you were ready to handle the task of finding out what is going on."

"Clow Reed has returned?" said Syaoran in shock.

"There is more. The soothsayer has had another vision. One that involves you," said his mother. That had been the primary reason they had called him back.

The last time that line had a vision about the Li clan, Clow had been born. And the Li took over the Dragon clan as one of the top clans in the country.

"Syaoran Li, the soothsayer has spoken of you. She says that you will keep the Li clan above the others because of your work with the Cards," said the Elder.

Syaoran blinked. He had failed to get the cards at all. Why had he been picked?

"She has spoken of a girl, one who will take Clow's place as his heir. She says that you alone have a tie that could bring the bloodline back," said another.

"Sakura is Clow's heir?"

"There is also the matter of someone who claims to be the Son of Clow. The goblins have confirmed that there are two inheritors of the Reed clan... this Sakura, for taking full possession of the Clow Cards...and a boy who has taken the mantle of apprentice and son."

"But Clow Reed is dead!" said Syaoran in shock.

"There have been rumors in Europe that he was brought back. For what reason we do not know...but if he has returned you are to find out why."

"For that, we are sending you back to Japan. Keep a close eye on this new Card Mistress and for this Child of Clow Reed," said the Elder.

Syaoran's mother, the Matriarch of the clan, pulled him aside.

"Syaoran, this is a very important task. I believe that the soothsayer speaks of a red string that connects you to this Sakura child. If that is the case you know what must happen."

Syaoran blushed. He had nothing against Sakura personally, in fact he rather liked the girl. But he was too young for marriage.

"I won't force you to marry her. At least not until you are both ready for such a burden."

"Japan's laws say that you can get married as young as sixteen without your parents consent. I heard that was how Sakura's mother Nadeshiko married her father," said Syaoran blushing.

"Well hopefully it won't have to come to that," said his mother smiling. She rather liked the girl...she was such an innocent and cheerful child.

Syaoran prepared to return to Japan...and this time he had no idea when he would return to Hong Kong.


	5. Chapter 5

Sakura, Tomoyo and Eriol were in her living room, since Toya and her father were out for the moment.

Since Eriol knew about magic, Kero-chan was allowed out as well. Though of course Eriol couldn't resist bringing someone else along...

"Hoe! It's a dark Kero-chan!" said Sakura.

"His name is Spinel. He's my familiar," said Eriol.

Spinel was in his conservation mode, partly because Eriol still had trouble maintaining his true form...and because they didn't want to blow who Midnight was just yet.

"Hiya Suppie!" said Kero.

"It's Spinel, you half-sized half wit," said Spinel his tail moving in an annoyed fashion.

"Don't mind _Suppie_," said Eriol snickering, "He rarely gets to come out in public because magic isn't that widely known. I usually bring him out like a good luck charm and no one thinks twice about him."

"So you were going to tell us about Clow Reed?" asked Tomoyo.

Kero suddenly honed in on Eriol.

"Clow Reed is a complicated matter. One that has a bit of a backstory to it. Originally the Li clan were a middle-class group of practitioners, one that had the chance to be great but not the ability. Then a soothesayer told them of a child...a naturally born sorcerer who could create a new magic that would cause their status to shoot through the roof and give them a proper direction to become one of the most influential clans in China. The catch was that the child would not be entirely Chinese in origin...he would have to have Western magic as well.

"Naturally this caused a bit of a stir among the Chinese pure bloods. However a compromise was reached... one of their best and strongest maidens would locate the sire, but he would have to be at least pure blood himself and of good stock. Now at the time there was a dark lord that had been killing his opposition, and rumors had spread about a Chinese pure blood woman searching for a man who could bring forth a natural sorcerer of great skill. Many of the pure and older lines wanted the woman, for she was of great beauty and power. However she spurned them all, for they were arrogant and greedy."

Sakura and Tomoyo listened with rapt attention. This was something even _Kero_ had never heard, for Clow had never told them of the reasons behind why a Chinese woman from a very traditional upbringing had a child with a Western wizard. However this was something of a bedtime story for Eriol before Clow had gotten his own body, so he knew it well. Almost as well as Clow himself.

"One night, there was an attack on the house upon which she stayed. Fleeing for her life and her mission, she came across a cave which held a man from a minor pure blood house. He had only wished to see what she looked like, because he did not believe himself worthy of bearing the next sorcerer into the world. But the woman had been followed, and what he lacked in status he made up for in power and skill. He defended her and they ended up falling deeply in love," said Eriol.

Tomoyo and Sakura sighed. This was such a romantic story!

"Now this man was taken to China, and shortly after they were wed and Clow Reed-Li was born. It took him many years and he became one of the strongest magicals in all of Asia. Because he was half-British, he also took the post as Headmaster in a very old Scottish school known as Hogwarts for fifty years... he even taught the current headmaster known as Albus Dumbledore before he was promoted. Shortly after he left the school, he created his greatest work...the artifacts which boosted the Li clan above almost all the others baring those of Imperial birth...the Clow Cards."

"Hoe! Kero-chan, you never said anything about this!" said Sakura.

"This was before my time! Clow never spoke of any of this stuff!" complained Kero.

"So that would make you Keroberos, the Guardian of the Seal? I heard about your little mishap," said Eriol with a teasing look.

"Oi, no comments from the peanut gallery!" said Kero.

When Eriol left, Spinel sat on his shoulder inside his hoodie.

"Was it wise? Bringing me to that house and telling them of Clow's past?"

"Keroberos didn't even notice you. His skills have really taken a hard blow from the sleep and her lack of power. Perhaps we should step up our games?" suggested Eriol.

* * *

"Syaoran-kun!" said Sakura happily.

"Sakura-chan. My family sent me back," he said.

"Why?"

"There's an old soothsayer clan that we listen to and they said that I had to return for an unknown amount of time," he said.

"You mean like the one that said that your family would have to combine Western and Eastern blood in order for Clow to be born?" asked Tomoyo with stars in her eyes.

Syaoran's eyes flew open wide in shock.

"Where did you hear about that?!"

"Eriol-kun knows a lot about Clow Reed's history! Did you know he once ran an entire school over in Scotland before he made the cards?" asked Sakura.

"Eriol?"

"Ni hao," said Eriol, sneaking up behind Syaoran.

Syaoran yelped in surprise. Eriol was surprisingly sneaky when he wanted to be.

"My name is Eriol. It's a pleasure to finally meet someone from the famous Li clan."

"Uh, hello. How did you do that?"

"Practice. Should see how high my otou-san jumps when I sneak behind him when he was mixing up some minor explosive powders. He had to regrow his eyebrows the last time," said Eriol with a grin.

"Eriol here knows a lot about Clow Reed."

"I'm a fan of obscure history, and the story behind Clow Reed's birth was one of my favorites," he said in way of explanation.

"Where are you from?"

"Europe. Britain to be exact."

The lunch bell rang and they went back to their seats. Syaoran had the feeling this Eriol was the same one that he had been sent to investigate.

With the addition of Syaoran, Eriol stepped up his games for Sakura to overcome. With his help, the games were over that much quicker.

A good thing too, because he wasn't as oblivious as Sakura was. Syaoran had the right kind of magical instinct to start connecting Eriol Reed to this mysterious Midnight character.

It wasn't until the third run in that something almost catastrophic happened. Sakura got hit with Shot and one of her wings was clipped by accident.

Unable to maintain flight, the wings vanished without warning and she began to fall. Keroberos and Yue had been tied up by Moon and Sun (Eriol had decided to quit calling them by their true names to avoid being caught since Sakura now knew about Spinel) and were unable to catch her in time.

So he did the only thing he could.

He started to drop as well, dispelling his wings. It would take him precious seconds to recast the spell, seconds he might not have. He grabbed the unconscious Sakura who had passed out from fright and held tightly while trying to bring his wings back out.

Suddenly the two stopped their near-death fall and Eriol looked around to find out why.

DARK had activated without his knowledge and had taken full form. Since it was the night of a new moon, his powers were much stronger and he could handle carrying two...at least long enough for Spinel and Kero to arrive.

"_Truce for tonight?"_ suggested Eriol.

Kero and Yue glared at him.

"_You attacked _us_ first,"_ growled the cat.

"_You aren't seriously suggesting that I deliberately hit her wings are you? When have I ever tried to actually_ kill_ Kinomoto-san?"_ said Eriol openly offended.

Yue conceded his point. Midnight had never actively tried to cause Sakura harm...and it could have been an accident. Keroberos wasn't as convinced.

Eriol sighed.

"_I can't believe you still haven't figured out why I'm doing this. For Magic's sake, get your head in the game! There is a reason why I've been going at you lot!"_ said Eriol exasperated.

"_You're testing Sakura for something or someone. Someone who has reason for her to master the Cards,"_ said Yue.

Eriol nodded.

"_He asked me to give her the right motivation so she wouldn't have time to forget that she needs to change them. The longer she waits, the harder it would be,"_ confirmed Eriol.

"_Who? Who sent you to test her?"_ asked Keroberos.

"_You know perfectly well who sent me, but you're too blind to admit it. Even _he (Eriol nodded towards Yue)_ is aware of who sent me,"_ said Eriol.

"_Why? Why did he seal us away if he was going to come back?"_

"_It's only a temporary thing. The gods gave him a test, one that he barely passed and they gave him another shot at living...at least until his heirs are trained and able to stand on their own. Then he has to pass on properly,"_ explained Eriol.

Yue looked heartbroken. Between the two Yue had always been closer to Clow when he was alive. It was why he had such trouble accepting Sakura, who was still a child as his new Master.

It was why he now attached himself (both forms) to her brother, who reminded him so painfully of Clow Reed's wit. Toya certainly didn't care, and the truth about Sakura's late night activities was something that had been bothering him for months since she started on her journey.

Eriol planned to bring that out in the open very soon, because having to hide something so obvious could hurt Yue badly.

* * *

Syaoran was at Sakura's house for tea with Tomoyo and Yukito (mostly because Yukito had become aware of the fact Yue was inside him) when Eriol showed up...with Toya.

"Right. Is Sakura-san in?" he asked.

"Kitchen," said Syaoran. Kero was doing a credible stuffed toy impression and not liking where this was heading. At all.

"We need to clear this misconception up then."

"What misconception?" asked Sakura, coming in with more tea.

"I know about your little late night trips, and I want you to quit trying to hide it from me," said Toya bluntly.

Sakura froze in shock.

"You... you knew?"

"This runt here told me that it was far past time to get this out into the open, and frankly I agree. Just like I knew from the start that plush toy is faking it," said Toya.

"You knew this whole time?" complained Kero.

"Toya here has an incredibly strong sixth sense, one that was strong enough that he knew about Yukito long before any of you did. He can also see spirits, which is part of the reason why he knew about your late night adventures. He just didn't want to alarm you," explained Eriol.

"It's also the reason why I know Yuki's running out of power," said Toya, looking at his long-time friend.

"WHAT?"

"Yukito is almost out of energy. It's why his food intake has shot through the roof. My 'sister' Ruby, is the same... she has to share my father's energy since I'm too young to maintain both her and Spinel. It's not uncommon to share the load in families when it comes to familiars," said Eriol.

Sakura looked both shocked...and a bit relieved to have this out. Finding out Toya not only knew about her adventures but had kept quiet about it had been surprising.

"Are you sure about this Toya? If you do this you won't be able to see your mother's ghost anymore," said Yukito.

"Not necessarily. His power will be weaker, yes, but once he gets used to the new strain it should actually strengthen it once Sakura is old enough to handle both familiars," said Eriol.

Maintaining a family familiar was a common way to train the child's power without them getting hurt. The bigger the family the smaller the drain on the child. It was also a good way to insure that the familiar stayed in the family and would protect the child in case the clan was wiped out. Eriol knew full well this was common practice for Onmyouji clans who had dangerous youkai familiars.

"So Sakura says you know magic," said Syaoran.

"I was homeschooled until very recently, and most of that was in magical studies. This is actually the first time I've ever been in a normal school."

At least normal in that he didn't have to worry about... no, he wouldn't think about those people. His smile turned a tad fake as he viciously suppressed the memories of the time before Clow Reed appeared. Syaoran's eyes narrowed at the fake smile, but said nothing.

"What's your family name?"

"I'm a Potter," said Eriol immediately. That had been his birth name, so it was likely Syaoran had heard of it.

"Potter, as in _Harry_ Potter?!" said Syaoran in shock.

"My dad took me in when I was five, and shortly after he purged that particular scar. I changed my name last year when the paperwork finally went through," explained Eriol before the girls could ask why his name was different now.

"Who's Harry Potter?" asked Toya, wondering why the brat's reaction was so far off base.

"Harry Potter is the only known survivor of the Western one-hit kill spell. He also took out the Warlock that had been terrorizing Europe at the time, though his parents were killed in the attack. People have been scrambling for months since Lord Black learned his godson wasn't where Dumbledore said he would be," said Syaoran.

Eriol took one look at the shocked eyes of the girls and sighed.

"I'm famous for something I had nothing to do with and people always seem to forget that the day I 'killed' this warlock I also became an orphan. There's a reason I changed my name...escaping fame I didn't want or earn was a big part of it," said Eriol.

He was surprised when Tomoyo and Sakura both hugged him.

"Which reminds me, you had better watch out when you finally go to Gringotts Sakura-san," said Eriol.

"Why?" asked Toya. He didn't like the tone.

"Because she's Clow's heir and a lot of people are going to want a piece of her. Especially when she goes to claim her half of Clow Reed's vault in London."

"EH?!"

"You didn't know? Clow stated in his will that whomever becomes the next Master of his greatest work will be his heir, and when you beat Yue that became you. Which officially makes you half owner of Clow Reed's vault in London."

"What about the other half?" asked Toya.

"It belongs to his son and apprentice."

"That's why I was sent back to Japan. The clan found out that someone came forward claiming to be Clow's son and they want to know who and why," said Syaoran.

Tomoyo looked at Eriol shrewdly. She had a feeling she knew the who, but not the why. At least Eriol was being upfront about this whole mess.


	6. Chapter 6

It was coming close to the time that Clow would have to make his appearance, and Eriol was becoming more and more exhausted. Getting use to a new magical power like the Night Cards took a lot out of you, especially since he was powering them for the first time.

Though after the incident with WIND he had locked away the Elementals until he had the power to keep them under control. Clow had approved of his caution.

Eriol wasn't ready to handle even a fraction of those cards. Not even close.

Though why LIGHT and DARK responded to him better than the Elementals did was baffling for Clow.

Eriol suddenly ducked an ice blast from Yue, who still wanted to know who Midnight really was.

Eriol found himself pinned between Yue and Kero (it was hard to call him Keroberos after seeing that plush toy, it really was) and raised his hands in surrender.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as Eriol removed his mask to reveal his face. Sakura gasped in shock.

"Eriol-kun?!"

"Hi."

"It was you the whole time?" said Keroberos in shock. How did he not see that one before?

"Obviously. You should have guessed I was behind it when I told you about Clow Reed," deadpanned Eriol.

"Why the deception?"

"Clow is a massive Troll, and it was either I do it or he confuse the issue even worse. I really shouldn't have introduced him to that series," said Eriol.

He was really regretting showing Clow _**Fate/Stay Night**_ and that Zelretch character.

"But why did you do all this?" asked Sakura.

"You needed motivation the change the cards as quickly as possible. If we hadn't done that you might have taken your time and it would have been disastrous," said Eriol.

"Why?" asked Tomoyo.

"Do you know what _powers_ the Cards?"

"Powers them?" asked Toya. He had come to see Yue in action and to make sure his sister was safe from this Midnight kid.

"Clow's famous artifacts aren't powered solely through the Master's magic. He bound _spirits_ into them. It took me three whole years just to create my own deck, and I had Clow's help. There's a reason why I haven't used any of my Elemental set outside of the one time I tried to use WIND."

"There are spirits in the Cards?" asked Sakura, looking at her deck.

"All fifty-two cards are powered by one spirit or another. Why else could they act independent of their master when you accidentally set them loose? It was why Clow had called them his children when he was still alive."

"What about the Elementals? You said you had trouble controlling them," said Toya.

"My deck is different than Clow Reed's. Unlike Sakura, my Elementals aren't powered by the elementals themselves, but by a higher class of being. Do you know the legend of the Four Gods of the East?"

"Byakko, Seiryuu, Suzaku and Genbu?" asked Syaoran. Then his eyes widened, "You have got to be joking!"

"They were interested in whoever was remaking Clow's work, so they prepared a test which I barely passed. I nearly lost control of WIND shortly before I came here."

"What happened?" asked Syaoran.

"I was testing one of the easier to use cards, because I was told by a reliable source that WINDY was rather tame compared to the other three...big mistake. It turned into a total tornado and nearly drained my core dry in seconds. Ruby here barely managed to reign it in long enough for me to shut it off, and afterwords I locked the Elementals up until I was absolutely certain I could handle that much overload. I love my deck, but I'm not stupid enough to use cards I can't keep under control," said Eriol flatly.

"Why did you do all this?" asked Toya.

"My father was concerned Sakura would take her time to change the cards, especially the LIGHT and DARK who have to be changed together or else they won't work at all. Dad said he wants to be there personally when she does those, because he doesn't think she has the amount of power to handle that kind of job without real motivation to go all out," said Eriol.

"Who is your dad, and can I hit him later for coming up with this?" asked Toya.

"Yes to the second and you'll find out once she's ready for the last two," said Eriol immediately, before adding "And his original plan was to have her deal with a mystery person who left magical traps for her to deal with rather than have a rival that made her actually think about how to counter magical attacks."

"What sort of magical traps?" asked Keroberos, eyes narrowing.

"He was the one behind the snowman guardian gag. And the snowball that hit Yue," said Eriol.

"I'm going to bite him. It took me hours for my fur to dry out!" complained Kero.

"Trust me, I plan to have a camera when you do that," chuckle Eriol.

"So does this mean no more late night pranks?" asked Toya.

"She only has like five to go, and I think finding out the one behind this is motivation enough for her right now," said Eriol.

Sakura nodded emphatically. She wanted to know who could be the culprit behind this mess...and Syaoran wanted to confirm one of the rumors that the clan had heard.

If Clow Reed really was alive again, they needed to know _why_.

* * *

"Busted?"

"Busted. Yue and Kero-chan (Eriol snickered) cornered me. I figured I'd give them a warning that the one behind this was going to show up soon as a lasting motivation for Sakura to finish the easier cards before you showed up to insure she did the last two."

"How are you feeling?" asked Clow. He had noticed Eriol had trouble waking up in the mornings, which was somewhat unusual.

"Just..." Eriol couldn't help the yawn, "Tired I guess."

Clow rubbed his back before making sure he made it to the bed. Eriol was out like a light the second his head hit the pillow.

"Once she's ready I'll take over. Until then you're staying in bed," said Clow.

Eriol's core had been taking a huge hit from all the magic he had been using to test Sakura and get her going. Unlike Sakura, who had trouble changing one or two cards every other week, Eriol was used to going all out. But even the strongest mage had their limits and Eriol was fast reaching his.

Chances were that once all the stress was over he would collapse from exhaustion. Fortunately Clow was ready for that and planned a family 'vacation' for a week so Eriol could recover from this mess.

Spinel covered his master and the two were fast asleep.

* * *

Eriol was tired. All this magic use was really starting to get to him, and he had trouble keeping his eyes open at all. He was going to be relieved when this entire nonsense was over and he could finally sleep without having to plan the next adventure ahead of time.

Beside him was Clow, in his full robes and with their shared staff in Sun mode. Because Eriol felt better with the night, whenever he used it it turned into a silvery crescent moon with sapphires along the moon itself. Clow turned the thing into a rather odd Sun motif made of gold.

Eriol could hear Keroberos and Yue's cry of surprise, and noted that Syaoran wasn't as shocked at the culprit behind this. He had openly admitted to hearing rumors of Clow's return to the living.

It took Sakura a full hour to finally be able to change LIGHT and DARK, and when Eriol realized he could finally relax for a while he collapsed against Ruby. This whole mess was _finally_ over!

"Eriol!" cried Ruby when he collapsed. She caught her Master and looked at him in alarm.

Clow put his hand to the boy's head and knew the cause without checking.

"He's fine. A week's rest and no magic use and he should be back to normal," said Clow.

Ruby quickly got him onto the ground and Spinel acted as a lumpy sort of bed for Eriol.

"What happened?" asked Sakura in concern.

"Eriol has been using more magic than his body is used to lately. When he made his deck he took his time to create each card and left plenty of time for his core to rest. But recently he was using it almost every other night, so his core didn't have a chance to recover like normal. Because we're finally done changing the cards his body's limits caught up to him and put him in shut-down mode until it recovers."

Seeing the surprised looks on their faces, Clow then explained, "There was a good reason why I restricted him to book work instead of the practicals like we did in England. His body couldn't handle the additional stress and using his cards for the first time."

"Will he be alright?" asked Toya.

"He'll be fine. I'm taking him out of school for a few days and keeping him away from magic use for a week. He'll come back as good as new by the end of the week," promised Toya.

"So if you're really the guy who made these cards..." started Toya.

"Why did I come back?" finished Clow with a smile.

He nodded.

"Long story short, it's all because of Eriol here."

"Eriol?"

"His family, and I hesitate to use the word to describe those people, weren't the best example of humans. I had to get him out of that house the moment I found out how bad it was. Shortly after he started making his Cards, the four gods took note and gave me a choice. I could either continue with the original plan or give him the family he needed. Let's just say I chose to return for a short while to make up for a mistake I made," said Clow.

"How short?"

"Until Eriol can handle himself. He's a lot weaker than he looks," said Clow.

Syaoran looked at him.

"Stronger than Clow, but weaker at the same time," he said, repeating something the soothsayer had told the clan.

Clow smiled at the boy.

"Precisely. You are of course free to drop by the house now. I have no reason to hide from you all now that this is over with."

* * *

Eriol awoke to the sound of talking. He yawned widely and looked at the time. It was late, but not too late.

He went into the other room after making sure he was decent (someone had changed his special outfit to his PJ's) and went into the other room.

"Eriol-kun! You're awake!" said Sakura.

"What time is it?"

"You should still be asleep," said Clow.

Eriol yawned again.

"Wanted to know who was at the house," he said.

"Go back to bed Eriol. You can sleep in for the next few days," said Clow.

"Night," said Eriol, going back to his room.

Eriol returned a week later, and during that week quite a few changes had happened.

For one thing, Sakura and Toya's father was now aware that his children had magic and needed training. Toya wasn't as interested as his sister, but he was receiving some training from Clow so he could help sustain Yukito so he didn't collapse.

Clow had merely smiled at how close the two were, and fully approved of the two being together. Ruby had only targeted Toya to annoy Yue, she had no real interest in him. Sakura certainly didn't care that the two of them were that close.

Another big thing was that Syaoran had reported back to the clan about Clow's temporary return (at least until Eriol could actually handle him being gone from his life) and the boy had practically been sent back to learn from their famous ancestor.

Apparently his mother fully believed that learning from Clow was better than any magical tutoring they could give, and Clow _was_ one of their clan.

The third big event was that Sakura and Eriol were going to be partially enrolled in the Japanese magical schooling in between learning how to use their Cards from Clow. Once they hit eleven chances were that they would go to Hogwarts for a time, but Clow wanted them to have a base to work from instead of the backwards way that the Westerners did it.

He had looked into the school and was very disappointed that Dumbledore had removed several core classes simply because the Ministry had become infested with 'former' Death Eaters who didn't want the opposition to get too strong.

He did wonder where this so-called Defense Against the Dark Arts curse came from, because while he had run the place they had kept their teachers for years and never lost one from some curse.

But most importantly, he cleared the air between him and his former guardians.

Kero damn near fell in love with Eriol when he tasted the chocolate cake the boy had made...without using the SWEET card.

Eriol was a natural cook. Clow had encouraged him to continue this art and the boy had blossomed into a real chef, particularly if it involved anything sweet.

Eriol still had trouble adjusting that to potions, but he was getting there.


	7. Chapter 7

Eriol was in the garden when the first owls started to arrive.

"Otou-san, they're here!" he shouted.

Eriol knew better than to take any from the birds...one of them could be laced with a port key spell, and Clow was very cautious because of Eriol's original name. Not to mention the people who were still looking for the 'missing Potter'.

Clow had all the owls line up and took them off with magic-canceling gloves...a must when handling dangerous magical artifacts.

"Here we are. All the acceptance letters for one Eriol Reed. I don't know how this one for your birth name went through...the register would have changed it the minute the adoption went through and you started using Eriol as your real name," said Clow.

The lone letter for one "Harry Potter" was from Hogwarts.

The phone rang, and Eriol answered it. It took a few moments to understand the surprised tone in Sakura's voice.

"She said she got letters too, one of them from Hogwarts."

"Not surprising, considering my main vault is in England and her magical signature was automatically added to the vault when she became the new Card Mistress."

"Yeah? Come on over and we'll figure out which school to apply to. Word of warning, Hogwarts doesn't even use lightbulbs so it's considerably out of date with the rest of the world."

It took Sakura an hour to come to the house, her brother and support group in tow.

"So what's this all about? I thought she was already in a school," asked Toya.

"Because she's registered as an inheritor to my account, her name was added to the magical registries in the European schools. Legally she can attend, though I wouldn't recommend Hogwarts just yet."

"Why not?"

"Very out of touch with the rest of the world, and they don't have any normal classes like some of the others," grimaced Clow. Back when he was headmaster that wasn't too much of a problem, but these days it was a big deal.

Especially since Dumbledore had decided to remove the class rather than keep it up-to-date with the rest of Europe.

"But I heard their magical creature and herbology class is second-to-none," said Eriol.

"Yes, but that's only because they have the castle next to a forest full of magical creatures that's forbidden from the students and their herbology department has a larger than normal budget. Aside from that it's not worth mentioning until at least third year when you can pick your electives...and don't get me started on what I heard about the potions department," said Clow grimacing.

Severus Snape was a premier potions master, but a teacher of children he was not. Clow had checked into his career as a teacher and the number of healers, potions masters and aurors had dropped like a stone since the man took over for Horace Slughorn. And he heard the man had it out for every house _but_ Slytherin.

Clow didn't want to ruin Sakura's magical training because there was a very petty teacher on staff.

"What about Beauxbatons?"

"Very strict structure and it's rather gender biased towards males," said Clow.

He had done his research last year on all the European magical Academies, and he wasn't happy with what he found.

"Durmstrang?" asked Toya.

"Is run by a former Death Eater, who are like the magical version of the Nazis, and actually has a class where they show you how to cast the dark arts. Not something I would want Sakura-san to be exposed to with her kind nature," said Clow.

Toya grimaced. Once he had started his magical training, he had found he rather liked it and was taking his new education much more seriously. Chances were he would become a decent mage by the time Sakura graduated from her schooling.

"What about this one? Sun Tsu's Academy for Magic?" asked Sakura.

"Sun Tsu? Who named the Academy off of the man who wrote the _Art of War_?" asked Eriol. Seeing the location he grimaced.

"What?"

"Definitely not a place for Sakura-chan. China isn't exactly the best place for girls to learn magic, though it's getting better. The only female in power that I know of is Syaoran's mother, and that's only because she was the oldest descendant of the main line to inherit. They have a severe overpopulation issue in China," said Eriol.

Syaoran, who had also gotten several letters, didn't deny the claim. In fact he fully agreed with the assessment.

"I wouldn't recommend it either. It's more of a magical military academy than anything else, and it's stricter than France," he told them.

If the Cards hadn't shown up when they did, Syaoran would have been attending it last year. He hadn't been looking forward to it at all.

"So we have two rather strict Academies, one out-of-date castle, and one that even I wouldn't touch with a ten-yard pole," said Toya.

"Not a lot of options. And like I said, Hogwarts wouldn't be worth the trouble until at least third year, which would be around the time you three are thirteen. You could give it a go for a year, but it would be better all around to continue with the Japanese Academies until then," said Clow.

"So a polite 'maybe later' for Hogwarts then?" asked Eriol.

Clow nodded.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall was looking forward to this year. They would finally learn what happened to that poor boy. There was also the rumored heir to Clow Reed, a very famous pure blood who was half-Chinese.

Frankly she couldn't wait to meet this girl.

One owl came with twin letters.

She took the off and stared at the contents.

"_Dear Deputy Headmistress McGonagall,_

_While we were glad to receive the invitation, I'm afraid my friend Sakura and I must decline the offer to attend Hogwarts at this time. Our magical guardians have told us that we would be better off waiting until third year before attending the school, as the classes are very out of date with the rest of the magical schools we've looked at, and that the inter-house rivalry is almost completely out of control._

_While we would be glad to meet with you or one of the staff personally, we do not wish to attend the school at this time._

_Sincerely_

_Eriol Reed and Sakura Kinomoto."_

She immediately cleared her schedule and left the muggleborns to Pomona for the month. She had to find out what this child meant by saying Hogwarts was out of date with the rest of the magical schools.

Dumbledore had no idea about the letter, as he was still awaiting to see whether or not Harry Potter would show up in England after he went missing from his aunt's.

Minerva came to a rather beautiful English house on the outskirts of a rather quaint Japanese city. Outside was a young boy with raven-black hair and glasses pruning a bush while a young woman read what appeared to be a comic book at a table.

The boy wiped off some sweat and she realized it was the same child she had been forced to leave with those horrid people ten years ago.

Or at the very least was a mirror image of him. The boys eyes were a few shades darker than before and the hair wasn't the typical bird's nest that most of the Potter males had.

He took one look at her robes and immediately sent the girl in to inform his father of a visitor.

McGonagall nearly passed out from outright shock when a face she had seen countless times in Albus' office came out. A face belonging to a dead man.

Headmaster Reed.

"How is this possible?" she said once she had gotten over her initial shock.

"Long story short, Eriol. A few years ago he was going through a rather long magical undertaking with my ghost's supervision and a few gods took note. I was given the choice to either continue to supervise as a ghost which had limited ability in the world of the living or have a temporary rebirth with the agreement that I wouldn't stick around a second time once Eriol was able to handle me being gone. I chose to have a corporeal body so the poor child could have a real family instead of only half one."

If the gods had done this, then she could accept that. Even the Ministry knew better than to meddle in the affairs of the gods themselves.

"And what of this girl... Sa-ku-ra Kino-mo-to?" asked McGongall, sounding out the name because she didn't want to mangle it.

"A fail-safe so that my vault never fell into the wrong hands. I wasn't expecting to be brought back, so I left it to whomever could become the next master of my greatest work. Eriol here gets half because he's not only my son by adoption, but also my apprentice."

"I assume you are behind him calling the very school you once lead outdated?"

"Albus cut back the mundane classes that the muggleborns used to attend so that they didn't fall behind their friends outside Hogwarts and took out several core subjects just because the Ministry became riddled with Death Eaters who didn't want future graduates to be as strong as them," said Clow in disgust.

McGonagall blinked.

"There were mundane classes?"

"Math, literature, and history," confirmed Clow. He had been the one to bring them into the core curriculum because he knew for a fact that mundanes were catching up fast with their magical half. Something the European pure bloods had tried to so vehemently deny.

Clow handed her a list of the classes that had been in place when he left Hogwarts to Dippet. McGongall's mouth dropped in open shock.

Several of the classes would have been rather helpful for those leaving school... she knew for a fact several of her graduates went to trade schools in order to get the career they wanted...schools with classes that could have easily been taught at Hogwarts for fifth years and above.

"Hogwarts just _barely_ rates as a magical school with how few classes are taught now. And don't get me started on the teachers," said Clow.

"What's wrong with the teachers?"

"Snape, Trelawny and Binns," listed Clow.

"Dad did a major background check on each school, including the teachers. Your department is fairly up-to-date, but it's being heavily restricted by the Ministry. Herbology and Magical Creatures are also pretty good, but History and Potions are a joke."

"History I agree with, but why potions? Severus is a very capable potions master."

"A premiere potions master I will agree with, but a competent teacher he is not. Here is the graph of the number of high NEWTs potions grades before he was hired and after," said Eriol.

The evidence was damning. The number of Aurors, healers and potion masters dropped like a stone after Severus was hired as a teacher.

"Like I said, Dad did an extensive background check on each school a year before we would have even gotten any letters."

She couldn't deny that they made a very strong point.

"What of Miss Kinomoto?"

"Her family trusts us to know what sort of school would be best for her, considering it was only recently they learned that they had magic in their lines. Sakura's brother Toya went for years unaware that his ability to see ghosts meant he had magic," said Eriol.

The British witch looked horrified that someone could go for years without knowing they had magic.

"How old was he when he found out?"

"Old enough to be a graduate. Fortunately he had been exercising his core for years without being aware of it because his best friend had been slowly leeching his magic and didn't know it. So it's not nearly as bad as it could have been."

Yue openly admitted when Clow noticed that Toya's core wasn't as small as it should have been since he had been unaware of magic until his core was almost fully settled that part of the reason why his human side had attached itself to the boy was because of his larger than normal magical core. Once they had become good friends Yue had started to borrow some of Toya's natural magic to sustain Yukito. It was why his food intake had only increased when Yue tried to change it to Sakura, who was too young to handle two familiars and he had to bond with Toya properly in order to survive.

Toya had been aware Yukito was borrowing something from him to live, but hadn't thought to ask why. It wasn't doing any harm, so he let it go.

McGonagall left with a list of classes that should be reinstated before Hogwarts slipped any further down the list of schools that magical children attended. Finding out her beloved school had gone from the top three to the fourth lowest one in Europe had been a hard blow.

* * *

"Minerva! How did it go?" asked Pomona.

"Are you aware that Hogwarts is currently ranked the fourth lowest magical school in Europe? And is in the top ten _worst_ school to learn magic?" she asked tersely.

"What?" said Pomona Sprout in shock.

"You mean someone actually did their research for once? Good for them!" said Flitwick. He alone had been the only one aware, but he knew no one would believe him about the rankings.

"You knew?"

"Dumbledore would have simply placated everyone and no one would believe me about the rankings. Perhaps if we replaced Severus and Binns we might have a better one, but at the moment we're a laughingstock," said Flitwick bluntly.

McGonagall would have denied it, but even she had to admit after hearing the cold hard facts from Clow Reed himself that Dumbledore had snowed them all over. As much as she admired Albus Dumbledore, Clow Reed outranked him in several ways and had been headmaster for much longer than Albus had.

More people respected the Sorcerer Clow Reed over Albus Dumbledore. Hell, Clow had been the one to _teach_ Dumbledore before he took the position as headmaster!

"What can we do to improve this?" asked Minerva sagging into her seat.

"First we need to bring back the mundane classes. They're standard in nearly every school around the world except for the so-called top three in Europe," said Flitwick immediately.

The minute he learned how bad the rankings were compared to everywhere else, he had asked around what they could do to improve it. The only reason he hadn't said anything was because he knew from experience that Dumbledore would cater first to the same pure bloods that had killed countless innocents before he would consider improving the school, just to keep his image intact. Dumbledore was a good politician and a poor headmaster. Flitwick knew from experience that the inter-house rivalry hadn't been nearly this bad when he was a student. It had grown entirely out of control once Dumbledore took over.

The others listened to the plan Flitwick had been revamping for the better part of ten years since Voldemort had been 'killed' to make the school better.

It was full of simple changes that wouldn't cause too many problems...and it wasn't like the school couldn't hit up a few alumni to help bring Hogwarts back to it's former glory.


	8. Chapter 8

Mei Lin Li was not happy. Yesterday she got the news she had been dreading for years...an engagement to someone she couldn't stand.

The only way out of this was to find someone of higher standing than the rather high-class pure blood family they were giving her to when she turned fifteen.

Unfortunately any boy her age she could marry were either already taken, complete jerks, or gay.

So she was in a hard place...until she remembered Syaoran spoke of another who might be more tolerable than the one she was stuck with.

Eriol Reed was unattached, not gay, and from what her cousin said was actually quite tolerable.

And more importantly he was was a magical, not a mundane like they wanted to marry her to. She would _hate_ to hide her powers from her husband!

* * *

Clow Reed heard Syaoran's problem. Mei Lin was a friend of Sakura's and she would hate to see her unhappy with someone she didn't like.

However Eriol was smitten with Tomoyo. The two had a shared love of cosplay, among other things.

Fortunately there were ways around that, ways that some people might frown upon normally but were perfectly acceptable if handled right.

Plus Mei Lin already knew Tomoyo. The question would be if she would mind sharing with the girl.

* * *

The Matriarch of the Li clan was amused. To use the older laws against the elders... Clow had clearly not changed one bit.

Having a mistress wasn't illegal, but it was frowned upon by some. However in this situation it was the perfect way to outfox those senile old men.

Mei Lin would be Eriol's wife in China, but his mistress everywhere else. Tomoyo (and things were looking very good that Eriol would fall for the girl) would be his mistress only in China.

And since the two not only knew about each other, but even tolerated the other girl's presence, this could work out for everyone. The only issue would be Eriol...though from what she'd heard of his personality it wouldn't be much of one.

Mei Lin, when told of the solution Clow had come up with, had been perfectly fine with it. She liked Tomoyo, and in a perfect society would have moved to Japan just to hang out with her and avoid the elders. She didn't mind sharing, or in the case of Tomoyo being turned into a dress up dummy. What girl didn't like playing dress up?

Because of the unique nature of the contract, Mei Lin was sent to Japan so that she and her future husband could bond. In separate rooms of course.

The second Mei Lin saw Tomoyo, Eriol saw something that the other adults had clearly missed. The two obviously happened to like each other as more than friends.

Tomoyo openly admitted she was bi, as her feeling for Sakura were more than just friends or even cousins. However since Sakura was clearly in love with Syaoran, that had left her the odd girl out.

Until Eriol showed up. Eriol had told her when she admitted her preferences that love was love, no matter what form it took so long as there was consent between both parties.

So the idea of being with Eriol and Mei Lin was too good a chance to pass up, plus it meant she would remain close to her best friend.

And with that, things began to settle down a bit in Japan. Mei Lin hung out with both Eriol and Tomoyo, as she cared for both equally. And if they girls became overprotective after Eriol told them of his past, well he said nothing.

* * *

_Two years later..._

Eriol was bored. He aced all his magical classes in Japan, and had been even offered to skip ahead. But he couldn't do that without abandoning his friends in the lower levels, most of whom were having trouble with the basic homework.

Friends don't abandon friends. That was his motto, ever since he realized that staying in Japan would lead to him actually having friends his own age.

So he stayed in the same year as them and read up on the higher level spells during classes with the teacher's permission. The others knew what he was doing to keep the peace, but the fact he had openly declined an invitation to insure that they didn't have too much trouble with homework had them grateful.

Eriol was simply a nice person.

Looking up, he saw another owl. He double checked the date and grimaced.

It happened every year. Hogwarts would try to rope him into their school when he wanted nothing to do with Europe if he could help it.

However Clow had been firm. Eriol had to spend one year at Hogwarts once he turned thirteen, if only so they could claim the vault legally.

Stupid backwards laws.

On the plus side, most of his group would be joining him and he could have Spinel scare the hell out of the English.

Most parents would have told him no, he wasn't allowed to unleash a fully-powered Sun guardian on a school of unsuspecting English.

But this was Clow Reed, known troll and pain in the ass when he was in the mood. Spinel and Kero were perfectly safe around young children, plus they were familiars. So long as they didn't switch to their smaller forms, the teachers wouldn't know that the children were messing with them.

Besides, how often did the sun guardians get to wander around in their true forms instead of their plushy ones? And in full view of everyone?

There was also the rumor that Hogwarts was starting to get back into it's game. Recent ranking had put them in the bottom twenty, which was a vast improvement considering they were in the top ten worst.

Still, Eriol took his usual precautions and removed any spells before he even looked at it.

He took one look at the electives and started laughing. Evilly. Oh here was the perfect way to give that headmaster who dumped him off at that woman's house a heart attack!

Who better to teach the history of sorcery than Clow Reed himself?

Reed didn't pause at the sound of cackling, he knew his habit of pranks had rubbed off on the boy but when he saw the elective he knew what Eriol had in mind.

There wasn't any books listed, so they were likely trying it out for the year like they had so many other subjects. Unless they found a good teacher, it was liable to be dropped like most of the other 'new' subjects they were offering.

Some had stuck, like beginning alchemy and advanced runes, but most went to the wayside because the pure bloods had raised a real stink about it.

However they did now offer courses that allowed muggleborns to at least graduate after taking their 'A-levels' and getting into college. The number of students who had fallen into the homeless camps had dropped like a stone after they offered those.

* * *

Dumbledore grimaced as he looked at the new roster of teachers. It seemed someone was brave enough to come and teach at what was now considered one of the _worst_ magical schools in the world. Many of the prospective teachers had laughed when he approached them with the chance to come and teach at Hogwarts.

Whoever was coming to teach... History of Sorcery had to be brave.

Dumbledore signed off on the man's contract, and checked the book he had listed. It was acceptable for new and advanced students. A few hours later he got a reply back... the new professor would come to the school on the train with his apprentices.

Now why did that handwriting look so familiar?

* * *

"Remind me again why we have to go to this school for a year?" whined Syaoran.

"Because otherwise those idiots in England won't fork over what Eriol and Sakura have legal right to as my heirs," said Clow patiently...before he added "Besides, I'll be in the school as well making Dumbledore too preoccupied to bother you."

"Dad took the position as the History of Sorcery teacher," said Eriol from the kitchen.

"What about Touya and Yukito?"

"I have them under apprentices," said Clow.

Sakura, Syaoran, Mei Lin, Tomoyo and Eriol would all be going in as new students while Yukito and Touya would be the 'apprentices' of Clow. It wasn't technically true of course... Touya was the one providing most of the power for Yue, seeing as how the two of them had bonded after the teen had offered up most of his magic to keep Yukito from disappearing. And Yue would follow Sakura into hostile territory.

"Besides... these English have no idea we're bringing in the two sun guardians...can you imagine the chaos we'll be causing with a lion and a panther that big in the school?" grinned Eriol.

Syaoran blinked, then a slow evil grin formed on his face.

"That is hilarious. Do we have magical cameras?"

"I know the potion that can make the pictures move," said Clow, a slow grin on his face.

"Is there any chance you could show us how to make our own familiars?" asked Syaoran with hopeful eyes. The look on the elder's faces if they saw him with a large familiar would totally be worth the magical drain he would have to deal with.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Dragon," said Syaoran immediately.

"Difficult. But I suppose we can make this a joint project, next to everyone getting their animal forms down," said Clow.

"I'm still not comfortable with her in that area," said Touya from his spot next to Yukito. He had his chair turned around and his head on his arms that were resting on the back of the chair.

"She has to spend at least one year at a European school in order to keep the English from trying to keep her and Eriol from getting their inheritance. It's goblin law, they have to come and claim it directly. Yue and Ruby will shadow them the entire time, along with their betrothed. And they know I'm active for the moment, so that will keep the English from trying to get their hooks into them as a 'magical' guardian. Though to be fair, since you are above the age of seventeen, you qualify as Sakura and Tomoyo's," said Clow.

"Why them?" asked Touya.

"Direct blood relation. Tomoyo is your first cousin isn't she? Eriol is legally my son, while Mei Lin and Syaoran come from my mother's clan. And Yukito is older than seventeen, so they will have to leave him alone...and that's before they find out he's a familiar bound to the Kinomoto family."

Though technically Yukito and Yue were regarded as Touya's mate, considering how close they were to him. As the Moon Guardian, Yue had the ability to shift genders if he wanted...the thing was he preferred being a guy. And Touya could care less about which he was.

"Now, as for our plan of attack..." said Clow with an evil grin. Yukito rolled his eyes, as did Kero. They were well accustomed to Clow's sense of humor. It only went from low to lower.


End file.
